UK Student Archery Association

NEUAL and SWWU show their hands [16/Oct/08]

First of all a reminder to everyone to please check the Club Info & Links section to see if your club (or indeed any other club's) contact details are fully up to date and email UKSAA with corrections if not.

As is often the case early in the season, provisional calendars are subject to change - in particular two batches of NEUAL fixtures have been swapped around. The reshuffle now means that the opening set of fixtures now sees the NEUAL champions of the last three seasons open against each other as York host Keele and current champions Sheffield. Huddersfield open their NEUAL account away at Liverpool, with Durham the third side involved. The remaining fixture is Bradford v Leeds v Lancaster.

NEUAL produced one of the tightest and most exciting finishes to a regional league last season with so many of the sides so evenly balanced. At NEUAL Indoor Champs, the top seven teams were compressed into 100 points, the top five teams into 50. The novice competition was even closer with Sheffield, York and Leeds all finishing level on league points and requiring aggregate to decide the championship. As is often the case, graduations mean that some teams will be losing top archers, not least Durham for whom Pete Clayton will no longer be available. Amongst a barrage of high scoring last year, Clayton scored a 590 Portsmouth [corr.], breaking the All Unis record at a League Match in York in February.

The news from the SWWU is that only Bath, Exeter and Swansea will be competing in the eighth running of this league. So far only the first match in Exeter has a confirmed date, Sat 15th Nov. Bath pipped Swansea last season but the Welsh side came very close to their maiden league title and in the ELeague saw their senior and novice recurve A sides promoted and their compound team finish third overall. Scores for Round 1 of the ELeague (September/October) must be submitted by Wed 5th Nov.